During this decade, certain ‘universal factors’, common traits and basic practices of church-planting movements have become widely known and are now being taught in most countries. Consequently, Church Planter mentors and teachers are increasingly being called upon to advise, train and coach those who want to launch a Church Planting Movement (CPM), quickly, where conventional churches cost too much or reproduce too slowly. However, such workers can quickly prove disappointed, when CPM methods do not seem to work for them, even angry with you for misleading them.
Jesus predicted, “They will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14
Rigid Western leadership patterns increasingly clash with more flexible, emerging leadership patterns where churches are growing and multiplying. Many have observed that God normally raises up shepherds and servants in new churches, as He promised in Ephesians 4:11-12. Missionaries and church planters should discern who those leaders are, and cooperate with the Holy Spirit in affirming and training those leaders, even if their new leadership patterns do not fit traditional ecclesiology.
George Cowan observes, “Indigenous churches take root and grow when the Scriptures are translated into the language of the people and laymen can witness using vernacular Scriptures” (Importance of Using the Vernacular in Church Planting).
Patterson and Currah, like thousands of others, bear testimony to the greater effectiveness of church planting efforts through the preferred language of local populations. Patterson took years to become fluent in a rural Spanish dialect of Honduras and Currah in Baol Wolof of West Africa, before the gospel took root in an indigenous people. David Garrett affirms the authority of the Bible and the priority of the heart language of the people in church planting:
This document compares traditional classroom instruction with extension education that includes mentoring. Mentoring is defined as “training new leaders in the way that Jesus and his apostles did, by listening before instructing, planning for immediate application, assigning Bible and other readings to meet urgent needs of leaders’ flocks, praying with them, and empowering them to train others in turn.”
Four urgent reasons to compare classroom with extension training include these:
Former marine, Ed Aw, offers an apt illustration of the importance of maps. In military operations, a key to success is having accurate maps in hand, not only the commanders but also the front-line soldiers. Maps allow commanders to plan proper strategies. We called them "beans, bullets, and bandages" strategies. You have to know how to supply the front-line troops with food, how to provide fighting equipment, and how to take care of the wounded. The best course of action becomes evident from factors indicated on maps, such as enemy strongholds, geographical terrain, friendly encampments, and prisons where civilians are unjustly imprisoned. Based on these data, you can determine a strategy for battle. As the battle advances, field-level soldiers must update their maps pass them up to the commanders, so that they can make strategic adjustments and lay new plans to move toward the end goals of defeating the enemy and setting captives free.
This article by a long-time mentee of mine deals with a fascinating and little-discussed factor in Church Planting Movement (CPMs), the role of local adaptations of the Bible. As a CP mentor-trainer, you may have to advise those whom you mentor on this topic.—George Patterson
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